The Queen's Pet Ursa
by Izlawake
Summary: "I'll take care of you," Nora told the Ursa cub. Nora finds an Ursa cub and takes it with her. Keeping the cub a secret from her friends and most importantly, the teachers, will prove most difficult. Nothing new for Nora.
1. Little Dante

**The Queen's Pet Ursa**

**Chapter 1: Little Dante**

Deep in the Emerald Forest, Team JNPR was on a class assignment by Professor Cortes to bring back a few specimens of flowers that can benefit oneself if consumed. The team decided to locate the Myacinth, an interesting flower that, if mixed with some honey and a herb, can enhance one's stamina if consumed.

"Alright, guys," said Ren as everyone gathered together. "According to my map, the Myacinth should be located somewhere-"

"It should be somewhere near east of here," interrupted Jaune. "Myacinth tends to grow around large rocky areas, which lies east of here." Pyrrha beamed at Jaune, giving him a pat on the back while Ren confirmed it on his map.

"I, uh, I would always pester my mother to take me to the Floriculture Museum when I was younger, so I know a lot of...never mind," Jaune rambled. Pyrrha giggled behind her hand.

"Let's go, lazy butts!" shouted Nora, who sped off for the eastern region. Ren sighed and ran after her followed by Jaune and Pyrrha. Nora hooted with laughter as she climbed up the rocky hills, searching for the Myacinth.

Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren found enough Myacinth to warrant a passing grade. Nora, well, she has disappeared from the team. "How is it Nora is worth so much trouble to us?" Jaune questioned aloud.

"You should've seen her when we were kids," Ren answered. "She was a nightmare to our friends and neighbors." Jaune and Pyrrha chuckled a little at the thought of Nora as a child.

Elsewhere, Nora had just descended down the hills looking for Myacinth to instead witness an impressive, yet terrifying battle between an Ursa and four Beowolves. Nora noticed a tiny cub Ursa clinging to the bigger one's back; it mother. The Beowolves quickly surrounded the mother Ursa and attacked, bringing it down to snack on. The cub dove off its mother's back and made a ran for it, but two Beowolves broke away to pursue it.

That was when Nora appeared between the Grimm. Brandishing her mighty Magnhild, she utterly destroyed the two Beowolves. The remaining two paused their feast on the mother and rushed at Nora. With the press of a trigger, she blasted the two into bits.

Nora watched as the Ursa cub ran to its fallen mother and nudged its lifeless body. It pawed at its mother's face without a response and let out a low growl. Nora felt a little saddened by this. 'If I had reacted quicker, the mother would still be alive,' Nora thought. Nora holstered her weapon and approached the cub, who spun around and lightly growled, which sounded so cute to Nora.

Nora picked the cub up in her arms. The Ursa was not very big for such a young age, only maybe about 6 pounds or so. Nora smiled, the gears in her head turning at a fast speed. "I'll take care of you, okay?" she said. The Ursa only growled and waved its tiny claws at her harmlessly. "Are you a boy or a girl?" Nora checked the proper places. "You are a boy. I shall name you...Gavin. Wait, no, that's a silly name."

Nora pondered many names to give her new pet. "Gus? How about Ray? No, maybe Jack. Miles sounds nice. Michael sounds good. I know, I shall name you, Dante."

Nora placed Dante into her bag, making sure he fit snuggly and gathered some berries for him to eat and to be still while in the company of Team JNPR. Nora carefully climbed back up the hills to find the rest of JNPR waiting for her. "There you are, Nora," said Ren. "We gathered enough Myacinth, so let's head back."

"Yes, Ren." Team JNPR headed for the meeting point and the entire class went back to the classroom. Professor Drake gave the team a passing B+ for their outstanding work, but took points off for how much time they took gathering the flowers. Ren read over a little history of the Myacinth.

"Hm. According to this, an explorer by the name of Monty Ouma discovered the Myacinth and some of its popular uses. He sounds like a cool guy." Ren looked over to see Jaune reading another issue of "X-Ray and Vav." Ren sighed and closed his book. "I guess we should head for dinner."

Nora kept little Dante in her bag with her all throughout dinner. Whenever Dante growled, anything, she made a loud sound to mask it, much to Team JNPR's questionable looks. "Here ya go, Dante," Nora whispered as she slipped some of her meat loaf into her bag for him, which he snatched up in his mouth. "Guys, I'm gonna head back up to the room a little early." Nora pushed her tray still with some food over to her friends, grabbed her bag, and ran off. One arm was tucked over the bag as well.

In Team JNPR's room, Nora searched everywhere for a place to hide Dante where the others will not think to look, but it was difficult. "I know, maybe I can convince Team RWBY to hide you," she told Dante, who growled at her. "No, that won't work. Weiss will be furious." Nora went back to searching, speeding across the room like Professor Oobleck. "Let's see here...we can do the bathroom sink." Dante looked at Nora through his Grimm mask with a puzzled look. "Maybe not."

Nora dashed over to her bed. "We could pull out some floorboards underneath and set up a cage of sorts," she said aloud. "Nah, I suppose you wouldn't want to see the underside of my bed most of the day." Nora fled to her closet dresser this time. "I guess you'll have to stay in here. There's some space for you, plus we can lock the doors with a key." She flashed a key in her hand.

Nora went to work setting up a little bed out of a bed sheet and a pair of one of her old sweat pants. She placed Dante inside and he soon snuggled in real tight, satisfied with his new quarters. Nora smiled and pet his fur. "I love you already, Dante," Nora whispered. Dante blinked at her twice, then inched closer to her face, rubbing himself against her, sending her into a fit of coos.

"I'll get you some food tomorrow morning, okay?" she told him. "You just need to be quiet for a while. I'll take you out for a bit after everyone is asleep." With that, Nora closed and locked her closet dresser. Dante burrowed himself into his bed and fell fast asleep.

**Remember to review, it helps a lot. I'll see you around Readers.**


	2. Morning Troubles

**A/N: A head's up, the living quarters for the teams is a little different than what you see in the show. For one, in the main room where the beds are are also desks, a couple sofas and recliners, two bookcases, and lockers for armor and weapons. Adjacent to the room is the bathroom, which contains three toilet cubicles, two urinals, four shower stalls side by side, four sinks and medicine cabinets. There is also a small kitchen area with a fridge, stove, oven, a table, and some cabinets. In the wide windows in the main room is a door that leads out to a balcony containing two rocking chairs. I say this to avoid any confusion that may occur.**

**And virtual cookies for whoever spots the hidden Easter eggs.**

**Chapter 2: Morning Troubles**

The next morning, Nora woke up. She stretched out her limbs in the manner of a cat, something Blake would often do, and got out of bed. She looked around to see only Ren's bed still occupied, him still fast asleep. As for Jaune and Pyrrha, they must be out for early morning training. Nora scurried over to her closet and, taking one more look and ensuring that Ren was still sleeping, she unlocked her closet door and took the still sleeping Dante into her arms.

"C'mon, Dante," Nora whispered as the cub yawned. "Shhh, stay quiet or Renny will hear you. Let's go take a shower together, okay?" Dante glazed at her, then she scooped him up and carried him in, closing the door behind her. Dante sat on the floor while Nora stripped off her pajamas and stuffed them in her bathroom locker and taking her towel and shower gear. Nora scooped Dante back up again and stepped into the one of the shower stalls, not minding the minor bites he gave her on the shoulder. "Stop that," she ordered, bopping him on the nose. "Don't do that again."

Nora took little time to wash herself while Dante scurried off to a dry stall to avoid the water. Nora giggled and brought him back over to the water despite his protests and Nora began scrubbing his fur with soap. Dante growled and lashed out, scratching one of Nora's breasts a little. She slapped a hand to it and winced before glowering at Dante once more. "Dante, never do that," she snapped. Dante lowered his head as if to say he was sorry.

Nora resumed washing her pet, saving his Grimm mask for last. She was very careful not to get soap in his eyes. Upon finishing, Nora dried herself first then rubbed Dante up and down till his fur was all poofy. He shook the remaining water off himself and pranced around Nora a bit as she tied her towel on herself, much to her delight.

"Aw, you're so cute now," she cooed as he pawed at her legs and nibbled them, most likely for food. Nora patted his head and put two fingers to her lips to shush him. "I promise I will get you some food when I come back from breakfast, okay?" Dante had a look that seemed to say he understood.

Nora lifted Dante into her arms again and went for the door, cracking it open a few inches when she heard Jaune and Pyrrha's voices.

"I swear my back is all bruised up from the hits you gave me," said Jaune.

"Well, at least you're improving more and more," said Pyrrha. "I mean, you're shield blocking has improved tremendously." From the crack, Nora could see Jaune stretch his aching arms while Pyrrha patted his shoulders. "I can give you a back rub later if you want." Jaune happily shuddered at the thought of another one of Pyrrha's relaxing massages.

"Thanks, Pyr. I could use a hot shower first though," he answered. Pyrrha nodded, tagging alongside him.

"Oh, dang. C'mon, Dante." Nora closed the door sharply, and retreated back into the bathroom. With nowhere else to go, Nora and Dante took shelter inside a stall and locked the door shut. She held Dante closely to her chest as she listened to Jaune and Pyrrha enter and go into the shower stalls. She dared not even breathe until she heard the sound of the water splashing her friends before she relaxed her grip over Dante's mouth. "C'mon, Dante," Nora whispered, and calmly and quickly exited the stall.

Jaune spotted Nora through the foggy stall heading for the door. "Nora, when did you get in here?" he asked. Nora ignored him and exited the bathroom with haste. Pyrrha popped her head over her stall after she left, wondering what she was doing, but resumed her shower after a second.

Nora quickly went to her closet and put Dante inside just as Ren began stirring in bed. She had just locked her closet dresser shut when she jumped at Ren's voice. "Nora, what are you doing?" he said in a groggy state.

"I-I-I'm just getting dressed, Ren," she answered. Ren looked at her with a strange look probably due to the fact she was wearing nothing but a towel and she was dripping wet. Nora instead giggled, dried herself off on the spot and changed into her Beacon uniform. "Sorry about that, Ren." Nora flopped onto her bed and began jumping up and down on it. Ren sighed and followed the rest of JNPR into the bathroom.

With everyone showered and dressed, Jaune led his team to the cafeteria for breakfast consisting of bacon, scrambled eggs, and pancakes. Nora took a huge stack of pancakes for herself as well as stealing an entire bottle of syrup from Team RWBY's table since her team took theirs before she could. Jaune poked at his eggs, Pyrrha chomped down on a couple pancakes, Ren munched on his bacon while muttering on how his pancakes taste much better, and Nora was her usual self.

"So, JNPR, how did that assignment for the Myacinth flower go yesterday?" asked Ruby sitting across from them.

Nora swallowed her mouthful of pancakes. "It was swell," she answered. "Without my amazing tracking skills, we would've been screwed."

Yang chuckled to herself. Weiss was eating some eggs and bacon, taking care to eat with elegant manners. Blake was munching on some toast with her nose buried in another novel.

"Actually, it was thanks to Jaune that we found the flower," mentioned Ren. Jaune rubbed the back of his head and stuttered out a "oh, stop it."

"Well, we had to climb down a cliffside to pluck the flowers off the rock patches," continued Nora.

"The flower actually resides on rocks and not cliffs whatsoever."

"And we encountered several Ursa along the way!"

"It was just one, and a small one at that."

"So cool though," cooed Yang, who was listening with interest.

"Yeah, and I beat that Ursa into next week." Nora fist bumps the air in front of her while making punching sounds. "And I was like, 'You be the castle and I'll be the Queen. Now I will rule you.'"

Yang burst into laughter while Blake rolled her eyes. The previous night, she suffered several cat puns from Yang and she was fed up with her and her jokes. Nora wished she could stick around to hear some of Team RWBY's exploits, but she had to go feed Dante breakfast.

"Guys, I'm going back to our dorm for a bit," Nora said quickly, scooping up four dry pancakes before rushing off with a final, "I'll see you guys in class." Nora did not even notice she left her bag at her seat. Ruby saw this and rushed after her with it.

Back in their dorm room, Nora released Dante from his den and fed him the pancakes, which he slurped down his throat. Nora giggled as he ate, thinking how cute he looked whilst eating his meal. Upon finishing, Dante gave Nora a low growl and brushed his head against her knee. Nora cooed and squeezed the cub against her face. Dante in response started to lightly nibble her hands.

Just then, a creak as the dorm door opened. Nora did react in time as Ruby entered with her bag. "Hey, Nora, you left your bag in the cafet-" Ruby did not finish her sentence as she found herself staring at Nora and the Ursa cub. "Uhhh..."

"Um, hi, Ruby," Nora stuttered. "Um, thanks for bringing my bag back."

"Uh, why are you holding an Ursa cub in your room?" Ruby asked, pointing to little Dante.

"Oh, well, this is Dante," Nora answered, holding Dante out to Ruby, who inched back from the creature.

"I take it JNPR or anyone else doesn't know about him?" Nora nodded.

"Promise you will keep this a secret though?" Nora clenched Dante closer to her chest in a cute manner. "His mother was killed by Beowolves yesterday and I didn't know what else to do."

Ruby thought about it for a minute, and she knew what to do. "Sure thing. Let me know if you need any help with him too, Yang and I have a dog back home so I have previous experience with pets." Ruby smiled and gave her a thumbs up. 'I just haven't had experience taking care of Grimm besides slicing them up,' she thought in the back of her head.

"Thank you, Ruby." Nora gave her friend a hug and a quick introduction to Dante before locking him back in the closet dresser again. "I'll be back after Grimm Studies, Dante." He gave her a growl before being plunged into darkness once more.

At Grimm Studies, their teacher, Professor John R.R. Fantasia, instructed the class about the various creatures of Grimm that wander the areas of Vale. Professor Fantasia was a short man with short brown hair and thick glasses who was knowledgable in many thing about the kingdoms and their cultures, environments, and so much more. He is only about 32 years old, and often wears high-priced but classy business suits. The one thing consistent about him is that he always carries a golden pocket watch in his pocket. He is a very kind man to his students, friends, family, and even complete strangers. Some students have heard he entertains children in parks on weekends by telling them wonderful and mesmerizing stories. Some have referred to him as a kind, old man, but only younger.

"One thing you Huntsmen and Huntresses-in training must remember," he started. "is that while the creatures of Grimm, the Ursi, Beowolves, Nevermores, and so on, may be trying to kill you, they are NOT on the same side. There have been many reports over the years of Grimm in-fighting, be it over territory, for survival, or for mere sport. This is something one can use to their advantage in a fight."

One Student, Velvet Scarletina, raised her hand. "You mean, trick Grimm into fighting each other to increase one's chance of survival?" she muttered.

Professor Fantasia grinned. "Exactly what I mean, Ms Scarletina, very good. Yes, one can benefit from the Grimm if done correctly. Now, who can tell me about a special ability of the King Taijitu breed of Grimm?"

Two hands went up, Ren's, and a black-haired and green-eyed girl named Sarisa Raleigh. Professor Fantasia chose Sarisa to answer. "Ms Raleigh, you have the floor," he said.

Sarisa Raleigh stood up, brushing her lap free of her long coat. "The King Taijitu is capable of shedding its skin during battle, which can erase any minor wounds it has sustained, but it is only capable of shedding skin once every few days however." She seated herself, content in knowing she was correct, though she had never encountered a King Taijitu, unlike Ren.

"You are correct, Ms Raleigh. I see you have been paying attention in class, unlike one of your teammates." Professor Fantasia eyed her teammate Tristan Cortes, a Wolf Faunus, who fell backwards in his seat while everyone snickered at him. "Now, it seems class is almost over, so any more questions before we leave?" His eyes scanned the room and found one hand, Nora Valkyrie's.

"Professor, I was wondering if it is possible to tame the Grimm, as pets or maybe as steeds for battle."

Professor Fantasia rubbed his chin. "Very good question, Ms Valkyrie, though difficult. Man has attempted to tame some Grimm, mainly Ursi, in the past, but results have turned up nothing. A few people have reported that they have tamed Grimm young, though this is unclear. Frankly, I don't think it would be wise to try taming any Grimm, especially as a pet. Everyone is dismissed."

RWBY and JNPR left class together. Ruby stuck close to Nora and whispered in her ear, "You can't be serious about taming that thing, are you?" Nora did not say anything to her, but she sped ahead of everyone.

Jaune stretched his arms out. "I don't know about you guys, but trying to tame a Grimm sounds crazy," he said jokingly.

"Well, there are some people crazy enough to try it," remarked Weiss. "Well, it can't be any harder than trying to tame that wolf of Team LOST there." Weiss gestured behind, where LOST's leader, Lucas Dias was giving Tristan a chewing out for not paying attention. Tristan just shrugged and their female members, Sarisa and Olivia Marquette shook their heads in disapproval.

Back in her room, Nora brought Dante back out and let him crawl around her before giving him a hug. "I don't care what anyone says is possible or not, I'm gonna raise you to be a friendly little Ursa," she said. Dante growled at her again, but in a friendly manner. Nora smiled and tapped his nose. "Boop."

**Remember to review, it helps a lot. I'll see you around, Lovelies.**


	3. Oh No

A/N: All rights belong to their respective owners and all that jazz. Let's jump back in with Nora and Dante, her pet Ursa cub.

**Chapter 3: Oh No**

It has been a number of days since Ruby discovered Dante, and true to her word, she has not revealed him to a single soul. Nora has taken notice that Dante has grown a tad, probably a few pounds and a few inches to go with it; must have been all of the pancakes she kept feeding him. Nora has noticed that this has created a set of new problems for Dante can barely fit in his nest in the closet anymore.

"Dante, we are gonna need to find you a new place to sleep," Nora told him one morning after breakfast. Dante was busy tearing apart a pancake to pay much attention. She patted his head and smiled at him. "I know, after class I'll ask Ruby if she can keep an eye on you for a while until I find you a new bed." Nora stored Dante back into the closet after some squeezing and headed of for class with Professor Port, or basically nap time for short.

After getting some much needed rest in class, Nora waited till the rest of her team went off to do their own thing; Jaune and Pyrrha left to train alone (and possibly more, judging by how close they have been getting), and Ren went off into town to buy some instant noodles packets, which is his favorite meal. When she knew that everyone was gone, she left Dante in his bed and went across the hall to Team RWBY's dorm. She noticed that the door was unlocked and twisted the knob, only to hear a voice: Blake's.

'Is that Blake?' Nora thought. She let go of the doorknob and pressed her ear to the door and could hear Blake moaning and gasping. Her face turned beet red when she heard Ruby's voice and what the two were saying.

"Oh, oh, Ruby," panted Blake. Then a loud gasp. "Stop! I'm sensitive there!"

Ruby giggled. "Oh don't worry, Blake, I promise I will be gentle."

Blake gasped again. "Ah, Ruby! How did you know I like being touched there?"

Ruby giggled again. "Yang told me you like it here after she did this with you." Nora was blushing red like an apple now, and she was sweating like crazy. She wanted to crack the door open to peek inside, but she did not want to intrude on Ruby and Blake's private moment or get caught. Yet, she could not leave without hearing the rest of the situation.

Blake could be heard moaning a little as Ruby continued doing...whatever she was doing to her friend. "Ah, Ruby! Don't climb on top of me like that!" Blake gasped.

"Aw, but Blake, I wanna be closer to you." Ruby said. Bodies rubbing against each other can be heard behind the dorm door. Blake continued to moan more and more while Nora listened. "Don't worry, Blake, I will make sure you're satisfied when I'm done." Blake gasped again.

'Okay, I'm done here,' thought Nora. She walked off down the hallway thinking of a way to take her mind off what she heard.

Back in RWBY's dorm room, Ruby was perched on Blake's back on her bed. Her hands were caressing Blake's cat ears, her face ruffling itself on her cat ears as well while Blake was biting her hand to calm herself down. See, besides books, Blake likes nothing more than to have someone scratch her ears. She also likes getting her chin scratched as well, and Ruby knows that.

"How did you like your petting session?" grinned Ruby. Blake smiled and pulled her friend into a hug.

"I loved it. Thank you, Rubes." She ran her fingers through her friend's hair for a while while they continued to hug each other, at least until Weiss and Yang got back from the library.

Back to Nora, she eventually found herself in a bathroom stall, curled into a ball, hugging herself to calm herself down. "Oh man, wait till the others find this out," she said aloud. "Who knew that the girls have been sharing Blake. And they didn't bother asking me to join in, that's a sign of terrible friendship." Clearly, Nora does not know which "friendly" activities she should join and which she should not.

**-Elsewhere-**

Jaune and Pyrrha finished their training a little earlier than planned. Jaune was boosting his accomplishments to Pyrrha on the way back to their dorm room. "Look, I almost beat you in round three back there," he said, pointing a finger at his comrade. "You may have gotten me in the end, but I was 'this' close, having just broken through your defenses." Jaune held up two fingers to signified his meaning.

Pyrrha chuckled behind her hand. "True, you were really close, but you still have plenty of training left before you are capable of defeating the master," she joked. She smiled as something crossed her mind. "Young grasshopper," she added.

Jaune shot her a look. "I may be your student, but I am not some grasshopper of yours." Jaune showed his Scroll to the scanner and they were granted access and entered. "I'm kinda sore though," he groaned. Pyrrha came over and rubbed his shoulders, where he slumped and let out a breathe of relaxing air at her touch. "Thanks."

Pyrrha reached her arms across and wrapped them around Jaune and pulled him in for a hug. He smiled and took hold of her hands. His face inched closer to her cheek, but before he could peck her cheek, she broke away from him as she had just heard a _THUMP_ sound in their room. "What was that?" she said. She let go of Jaune and walked across the room.

_THUMP!_

"I heard it too," spoke Jaune. "I think it's coming from Nora's closet dresser." He went over and yanked the doors open, only for Dante to leap onto him, knocking him down to the floor. "Pyrrha! Help me!" he flailed his arms about while screaming like a girl.

Pyrrha ran over to pry the Ursa off, but froze in place when she saw what the cub was doing: licking and nipping Jaune's face. She broke into laughter, holding onto the bed post for support. "I don't think you'll need any help, Jaune. I'm sure our new friend doesn't want to hurt you in any way."

Jaune groaned as Dante continued to lick him. "Three guesses as to who brought this thing into our room." Pyrrha nodded her head. She flipped open her Scroll and called up Nora.

"Nora, do you think you can come back to the room?" she asked. "We want to discuss something with you." Nora hung up and swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew she was in deep trouble and she knew Dante was involved.

**Oh dear, what will Nora do? Well, find out next chapter in The Queen's Pet Ursa.**


	4. Nora & Ren's Past

Oh no! Jaune and Pyrrha have discovered Dante! What will Nora do to convince them to allow her pet to stay? (Hopefully it does not involve her threatening them or anything.) Now, let us return to the story!

**Chapter 4: Nora & Ren's Past**

Nora rushed for her dorm room as fast as she could, speeding past any student she happened to bump into, including Weiss who fell to the floor. "Watch it, Nora!" she barked. Nora ignored her and continued on. Upon reaching her dorm, she hovered her Scroll in front of the scanner, where the AI named "Sheila" said, "Welcome, Ms Valkyrie," and allowed her to enter.

Inside, Nora found Pyrrha on her bed petting a sleeping Dante while Jaune sat on his applying bandages to the areas where Dante scratched him. "Um, hi, everyone," Nora said, waving with a smile. "I see you two have met Dante."

"Oh, that's the name of this cute, widdle thing," Pyrrha cooed, holding Dante in her arms. "He's quite a big fellow, isn't he?"

"Well, he wasn't that big when I got him." Nora began explaining the whole story, starting with Dante's mother being killed by Beowolves to her hiding him in her closet for the last few weeks.

"So, you decided to take the cub in so it wouldn't die, is that it?" Jaune asked. Nora nodded. "Are you crazy, Nora?! You brought a Grimm into Beacon, a creature of darkness that feasts on negative emotions!"

"But he's friendly!" Nora protested. "He may nip at your skin a little, but unless you do anything to upset him, he's completely harmless!"

"We live in a school full of late teenagers full of shifting hormones and emotions, where one tiny mood can ruin their entire day. I wouldn't be surprised if your pet could sniff out the most depressed person all the way across the school."

"Jaune, you need to calm down a bit," Pyrrha said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "A few good deep breaths." Jaune obeyed and spent a few minutes breathing in and out before sitting down on his bed. Dante awoke and hopped over to Jaune and began pawing at his leg. "He does seem alright with the two of us."

"My concern is Ren," Nora stated. "You may be alright with him, Pyrrha, Jaune, I know you will warm up to him eventually. But Ren has a deep hatred for Grimm ever since...Sorry, never mind."

"Since what, Nora?" Pyrrha asked. "What would give Ren such a deep hatred for Grimm?"

"I'll tell you guys another time. For now, we need to find a way to keep Dante out of sight and find a way to convince Ren to let him stay." Dante ran over and jumped into Nora's arms, whom hugged him tight and kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Dante."

Pyrrha is willing to accept Dante already. Jaune still has many doubts about keeping an Ursa cub in the room where he sleeps, which can be understandable. Nora went over and put Dante on her bed where he shifted around on the blankets, curled into a ball, and fell asleep. "We will just have to break the news with Ren when he gets back," she said. "Let me take the lead and I will coax him into accepting Dante."

**( )( )( )( )( )( )( )**

Everyone of Team JNPR stayed in their dorm room waiting for Ren to return. After about an hour of waiting, they heard Sheila announcing Ren's return and get ready. Ren came in, said hello, and went straight for the kitchen, passing the still sleeping Dante.

Nora assumed that Ren mistake Dante for her Grimm hoodie, a brand of clothing that models their clothes after the Grimm that plague the world, essentially turning the feared creatures into commodities of sorts. Twenty minutes later, Ren came out with a bowl noodles to see Dante in Nora's arms, licking her face. "Nora, what is that?" he asked with a sharp glare.

Nora turned Dante to Ren so he would see him. "Ren, meet Dante, my pet Ursa," she answered. Suffice to say, Ren was a tad surprised.

"Nora, what is that?" he asked despite already receiving the answer.

"I told you, he's Dante, my pet Ursa. He is the queen's pet Ursa." She grinned and rested her head on Dante's. "I hope you're alright with me keeping him here."

Ren took a deep breath and sat down at his desk. "Nora, get rid of it," he said cooly. "And don't give me any lip about it, you know why that thing can't be here."

"Ren, Dante is completely docile!" Nora protested.

"Somewhat," Jaune muttered, rubbing one of his scratches. Pyrrha elbowed him in the side.

"That thing can't stay here, Nora, you know what it is."

"But Ren–"

"No!" Nora was taken back from his sudden outburst. "That thing's kind has caused so many pain for us! Do you remember your mother, how she was torn apart by Ursi?!"

A few tears welt up in Nora's eyes. "That was different! Dante is docile! I have been trying to domesticate him for the past few weeks now!"

"Why do you think no one has been able to domesticate Grimm for years? Even if they try raising it to be friendly since birth, it doesn't matter because they all have that instinctual tendency to kill and devour anyone with a heart."

"Dante has never shown any desire to want to eat him at all, Ren! You don't understand!"

"I don't care. Get rid of it, Nora." Ren's words stung like poison.

"No, Ren!" Ren then lost his temper, something that was unthinkable for him to do. He lashed out for Dante, but his hand was slapped away by Pyrrha who then formed a wall between the two teens.

"You two need to stop this right now!" she snapped. "Ren, I believe Nora when she says the Ursa is docile; Jaune and I spend the last couple hours with it and it's only danger to us was all the kisses it gave us. I suggest you think about this for a while."

Ren huffed at her, but instead of challenging her, he turned and left the dorm, where he headed for the library. Nora relaxed a little and Dante go, who jumped onto her bed to rest. "Nora, what was Ren talking about when he mentioned your mother?" Jaune inquired.

Nora sighed. "It's something Ren or I don't like to talk to talk about, but I suppose you two deserve to know the truth."

"What do you mean?"

"I am not who I claim to be." Nora looked at her friends and gave them a weak smile.

**( )( )( )( )( )( )( )**

Inside the library, Ren sat down a table by himself with a novel, hoping to calm himself down after his outburst. He read the book for about fifty or so pages when he closed it and lied his head on the hardwood surface.

"Hey Ren, what's up?" He looked up to see Ruby standing opposite the table.

"Hello, Ruby," he said. "What brings you here?"

"Why you, of course." She took a seat at the table. "We heard you and Nora yelling a while ago, and we also heard Jaune screaming like a girl before that. I take it you had a discussion with Nora about her pet Ursa?"

Ren was shocked. "How did you know about that thing?" he asked.

Ruby giggled. "I've known for quite a while, actually. Remember back when Nora forgot her bag in class and I ran ahead to catch her? I walked in on her playing with her cub."

"Ah, that explains it. I take it you swore to keep the beast a secret then?"

"Well, it seems you and the others now know, so there's no trouble there." Ruby saw the look on Ren's face. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, well, it's just that I blew up in Nora's face over that cub and I dug up some bad memories that we both don't want to remember."

"What kind of bad memories?" Ruby rested her face in her hands, now intrigued with the conversation.

"Memories of her family being killed by Grimm."

Ruby's eye widened. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was a great tragedy for a lot of people then. Her entire family was slaughtered, most of the staff in the manor were slaughtered, and the manor itself was reduced to ruin. Nora and I were the only ones who escaped."

"Wait, a manor? What kind of person was Nora?" Ruby was dying to know more at this point.

"She is not of the Valkyrie family, that was something we made up to hide her true identity. Her real name is Nora Bjarkan, and she is...was a noble at one point in her life. You could even say she was a princess, or a queen even."

Ruby stuck a finger up. "That's why she considers herself queen of the castle!"

Ren lowered her hand. "Yes. One day, an entire legion of Grimm attacked the manor. Nora watched her parents and siblings get torn apart in front of her. I was her most loyal and most reliable servant for years; we had become friends quickly after I was hired by the family. I guided Nora out of there to safety, stopping only to watch as the Bjarkan Manor crumbled to the ground. From that day, I put Nora under the surname Valkyrie and swore to protect her till my dying days, no matter the cost."

"Wow, that is incredible," Ruby whispered. "I can understand why you are so mellow all the time now."

"I learned to control my emotions since that day. As for Nora, I felt as thought the traumatic events have made her the way she is, for she was never like this before then." Ren let out a long sigh. "Ruby, what should I do about this Ursa cub? If Ozpin or anyone found out, she could be kicked out of Beacon, no, all of us would for harboring a Grimm."

"Why do you think she is so attached to the Ursa?" Ruby took his hand in hers and lightly stroked the skin to help his calm.

"I believe she feels it is a replacement for the dog she lost with her family," Ren answered. "Nora had a wonderful puppy named Odin that she loved deeply, that is until the Grimm ate him."

Ruby felt sad deep down, and she shuddered to think what would happen to her Corgi, Zwei. "I think you should let her keep the cub. She seems very happy with it and–"

Ren noticed her sudden pause. "What's wrong?"

"You don't want her to keep the cub because it reminds you of her Odin, whom you feel responsible for his death, that''s it!" Ruby exclaimed.

Ren thought about this for a moment. "Perhaps you're right, Ruby. I should go apologize to Nora." He got up from his seat, but Ruby grabbed his arm to stop him.

"By the way, tell Nora that we're keeping my pet Corgi, Zwei, in our dorm room. Let her know she is welcome anytime she wants to see a puppy." Ruby smiled at her friend.

Ren smiled back at her. "Thanks, Ruby." Before leaving her, he gave her a quick peck on the forehead, which made her blush.

**( )( )( )( )( )( )( )**

Nora had just finished explaining everything Ren had said to Ruby a while ago. Jaune and Pyrrha were astonished to hear Nora and Ren's origins. "I can't believe you are the last Bjarkan," Jaune remarked.

"I prefer the surname Valkyrie now after having it so long," Nora said. Dante crawled into her lap.

Ren entered the room, causing a dead silence to echo around. He looked at everyone before heading for Dante, whom he took into his arms. "Hello, Dante, I'm Ren," he introduced. Dante pawed at his face, but he ignored it. "Nora, I'm sorry for losing my temper and for what I said."

Nora got up and hugged her long-time friend. "It's fine, Ren," she said. "I'm just happy to see that you have accepted Dante."

"Yeah, he seems like an okay little creature. Hey there." Ren lifted one of Dante's paws in his hand and moved it about to simulate a wave. Dante did not seem amused.

"Yay! Team JNPR is complete, now with a mascot!" cried Nora. Jaune facepalmed and Pyrrha chuckled. "Glad to see you two made up now," she commented.

"The bigger problem now is what do we feed him and how will we hide him from everyone?" Jaune noted.

"He likes pancakes!" Nora exclaimed. "Oooh, Ren, how about you fix up a plate of your world-famous pancakes?"

Ren smiled and slapped a chef's hat on his head. "Anything for my queen and her pet Ursa," was all he said before disappearing into the kitchen. When he came out, Nora was wearing a gold-colored crown with Dante beside her. Ren shook his head smiled. Feeding you two will be a bigger pain in the neck."

**The adventures of Team JNPR and Dante do not end yet! Tune in next chapter and remember to review!**


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